Is the format war about to resurface? Does Toshiba have the Blu-ray killer? - Page 7

DeeF · 07-09-2008, 11:56 AM

I wasn't really thinking it would be a combo disk, with two separate versions of the movie on separate sides of the disk.

I was thinking more of a single disk, with a single high-def version, sold as a DVD.

When you put this new super DVD into a player, the picture automatically uncompresses and "downconverts" to the exact resolution of the television it's being output to.

It's not an impossibility -- it's what cable DVRs do.

The player itself can have a permanent hard drive. When you insert the disk, the movie is automatically transferred to the harddrive and uncompressed. When you play the disk, you're actually watching the version that's on the harddrive, uncompressed and high-def.

The resolution will only be limited to the resolution of your television.

Aaron Silverman · 07-09-2008, 01:46 PM

Good luck with the "plays perfectly in all existing DVD players" part.

At any rate, there is no talk of a new disk format. This is a new player that supposedly does a better job of upconverting SD-DVDs than existing upconverting players do. That's all.

DeeF · 07-09-2008, 02:39 PM

I don't think it's at all clear what this new technology is; just that it will be backwards compatible with existing DVDs and DVD players.

This could be a new kind of disk, that will play in your old player and look like high-def.

Or, it could be a new player that will upconvert old DVDs in a new, better way.

Or it could be both a new player and a new kind of disk.

PattyFraser · 07-09-2008, 04:19 PM

Dee I so hope you are wrong in that they are not interested in the technology (DVDs) that we already own. That's what I am most wanting to do--upconvert the many DVDs that I have that I KNOW will never come to Blu-Ray. I have a couple of upconverting players, one an older Sony and a pretty recently purchased Phillips, which does just okay. My sister purchased an OPPO and is very disappointed with its upconversion. We purchased those players (except the Sony) because they could be hacked to region 0, and most of our favorite flicks are Britflicks.

Can't wait to hear more about this new player, and hope it's not just looking at new "superdisks" for its upconversion.

DeeF · 07-09-2008, 05:50 PM

I just don't think there's too much more we can do with DVDs, the ones we already have. "Upconverting" isn't a very good name for the process — it's really just making the DVDs look as good as possible.

But I definitely believe there could be a new technology applied to the next generation DVDs, which could make the picture and sound better.

Perhaps it's a different compression. Perhaps the DVD will hold a lot more information; obviously, we don't know.

But I think this technology will be applied almost exclusively to future DVDs, not the ones we own already.

They won't give it a name like Super DVD or HD DVD, or any other name but DVD. And everyone will buy them just as they now buy DVDs.

But these new DVDs will have a better picture, and better sound.

That's the only way I think they could kill Blu Ray, which already has a better picture and sound.

Joseph Bolus · 07-09-2008, 06:26 PM

Again, what we're hearing is that the new Tosh players will first mitigate MPEG-2 compression artifacts and then upconvert.

The so-called "Super DVD" --- which may or may not happen --- will supposedly add Blu-ray's interactive features. It will take one of the new Tosh players, of course, to decode the interactive layer. The same DVD will still play just fine on all "regular" DVD players, but the interactive layer will be ignored. It's also rumored that the addition of the interactive layer will provide some additional copy protection to regular DVD.

DeeF · 07-10-2008, 12:03 AM

So, just as I imagined, a new kind of player and a new kind of disk.

You'll have to buy at least something from Toshiba to get a better picture.

And I honestly doubt that the new player will make old DVDs look as good as BDs.

Joseph Bolus · 07-10-2008, 09:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DeeF

And I honestly doubt that the new player will make old DVDs look as good as BDs.

I don't think that anybody seriously believes that this new upconverting process will make DVDs "look as good as BDs". The real question is whether or not it will make DVDs look "good enough" on the average 1080p 42" plasma/LCD flatpanel such that the average consumer-on-the-street doesn't feel a need to upgrade to Blu-ray.

I view my DVDs on a projector so I need Blu-ray. (Or some kind of true HD optical format.) But I'm probably not representative of the average consumer.

I still think that Toshiba would be well served to build a BD deck with this new upconverting circuitry built-in. They could charge a $100 premium for the technology and most of us with large existing DVD libraries will happily pay the additional cost.

But it doesn't appear as though they're "on board" with Blu-ray just yet. *sigh*

Aaron Silverman · 07-10-2008, 12:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Joseph Bolus

The so-called "Super DVD" --- which may or may not happen --- will supposedly add Blu-ray's interactive features. It will take one of the new Tosh players, of course, to decode the interactive layer. The same DVD will still play just fine on all "regular" DVD players, but the interactive layer will be ignored. It's also rumored that the addition of the interactive layer will provide some additional copy protection to regular DVD.

What is your source for this?

Joseph Bolus · 07-10-2008, 06:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Aaron Silverman

What is your source for this?

I read this via a story linked on DIGG.COM. Of course, it's all just speculation at this point.

What's not speculation is that Toshiba has applied for and received a new DVD logo which will presumably be on the new players.

The info on the new logo can be found here:

New Logo From Toshiba Connected To The Blu-ray Killing DVD Player? | TV Snob - TVSnob.com

Chris Gerhard · 07-10-2008, 06:48 PM

There was a big thread at the High Def Forum today with some screenshots. I don't have a clue how good this new Toshiba process is going to be personally. I think current DVD upscaling technology provides great results and I see many people express opinions that current players make DVD look so good that they won't buy a Blu-ray player. If this is even better, then it might have an impact on Blu-ray adoption, but will only serve to limit the market penetration, Blu-ray is here to stay, it is that good. Blu-ray will be better than DVD no matter what process is used to scale, that much should be clear to everybody. How much better it looks on each individual's display will be the deciding factor. I welcome the new techology if it lives up to the hype but I am pretty heavily invested in standard DVD players, including an Oppo, a Samsung BD-P1200, a Toshiba HD-XA2, a nice Denon and others that work great by today's standards and will sit this techology out for at least several years. I have true HD sources such as Blu-ray, HD DVD, D-VHS, HD DVR's and it will certainly not hurt me to sit out at least once with this silly hobby.

Chris